


•let me help you•

by Lmm0373



Category: 21 Chump Street - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) Actor RPF, In the Heights - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF, Lin Manuel Miranda - Fandom, Miranda (TV), Vanessa nadal - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28749969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lmm0373/pseuds/Lmm0373
Summary: About a month ago a young woman named sara started working at lin's local bodega across from his apartment. Since he's close with everyone in the neighborhood he's been trying to talk to her but she always seems timid and somewhat scared. Lin thinks it's strange but doesn't worry about it too much, but when he sees her in an aggresive confrontation with a man one evening that changes.
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

It was a warm spring day. I had just come back from a meeting with a couple of Disney collaborators. It was a Sunday so Vanessa and the boys were home. I was on my way home from the subway station when I decided to get some coffee and pastries at our bodega for lunch. 

As i walked in I greeted Sara. She started working behind the counter about a month ago but nobody really knows who she is, which was unlikely in Washington heights. Antonio, the guy who runs this bodega, said she lives a couple of blocks away, but to be honest I've never really seen her around the neighborhood. I've been trying to get a bit closer to her since i like knowing my community and she is definitely less timid around me than before but it's still somewhat tense. I wonder why.

"Good morning Sara!" 

"Good morning sir." 

"It's Lin and you know that," I said with a smirk.

"Sorry, what can I get you today?" 

She didn't make eye contact, instead she just looked down nervously. 

"2 coffee and 4 fresh pastries por favor!" 

As she made the coffee and packed the pastries I texted vanessa that I would be home in a couple of minutes. 

"$4,57 please." 

"There you go." 

"Thanks." 

"Have a good day Lin!"

"Heyy your learning, good job! And a good day to you too kiddo!" 

I smiled at her before turning around and leaving the bodega not being able to take her timid eyes off my mind. Why was she so nervous around me?


	2. Chapter 1

"V I'm home!" 

"Hey sweetie how was the meeting." 

"Oh it was great! I think we're really making some progress on the writing and luckily we all agree on most on the things with the plot and stuff."

"That's great honey!" 

"How is it going with the students?" 

On top of being a scientist and a lawyer my wife was now teaching law at a university, I really don't know how i keep tricking this woman into loving me. 

"Oh they're doing incredible, definitely clever kids."

As I put my coat away V spotted the coffee and pastries. 

"Ohh Lin that looks good!" 

"Yeah i thought I'd bring some lunch!" 

As we all sat down at the dining table sebastian immediately started playing with his food.

"Sebastian don't play with your food like that." I gently chided him. 

"Was sara behind the counter today?" Vanessa asked me. She was a lot closer with sara and I'm yet to understand why. 

"Yeah she was, still a bit tense tho." 

"Weird, she never acts like that when she's around me." Vanessa pointed out. 

"Do you think it has to do with me" 

"Probably not, you don't exactly come over very threatening ." 

I scoffed mock offended. "Excuse me!" 

"What I meant was that maybe she's just not a big fan of men in general."

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, I don't know too much about her but maybe she's had some bad experiences with men in her life, that can change you forever."

I suddenly felt guilt rush over me. What if I pressured her too much over the past month not even knowing why she was uncomfortable around me! 

My wife must have seen it in my eyes because she grabbed my hand and told me softly: "you don't have to blame yourself for anything, just be kind to her and maybe she'll open up a bit more." I smiled at my wife but our little moment was soon interrupted by our youngest son frankie deciding he had enough of his food and throwing it on the ground. "Frankie no throwing food." I told him sternly before picking it up and placing it on my own plate, briefly thinking about when the last time was that the floor had been scrubbed. Deciding not to care I quickly put it in my mouth.

That evening, around 10 pm, V had decided I had been holed up in my room writing for too many hours now and advised me to take tobi out for a walk in the park. I grabbed my boots and my coat and headed out the door after giving V a kiss on the cheek. 

As i walked through the park I couldn't quite get sara out of my head. "Maybe she's had some bad experiences with the men in her life." The words kept wandering through my mind. I also didn't understand why I cared so much. I don't mean that to sound like I don't have any empathy, but I barely know her. Still, I feel protective of her. Maybe it's her age too, she can't be older than 22. At this point I was out of the park and back on the street headed home. 

As if on cue I saw sara in the distance. I was about to walk toward her to say hello when I saw a man standing with her. He seemed much older than her, he could be 35. With my wife's words still on my mind I decided to stand behind a big truck so that I could see them but they couldn't see me. My heart started beating faster when i realized he was yelling at her. 

"YOU WHORE WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING OUT SO LATE WITHOUT ME!" 

"I told you I was out with a friend, I texted you but you didn't reply so I didn't think it would be a problem." She said with her head cast down and her eyes fearful. 

The man continued yelling but I couldn't hear anything anymore. I just stood there frozen as I watched him scream and occasionally grab her way too rough by her upper arm or violently tilt her chin up forcing her to look at him. I wanted to do something. To run over to them and push the man away, but I couldn't I just stood there completely frozen, not being able to comprehend what was happening in front of me. 

As soon as I snapped out of my trance I realized they were gone. "Shit!" I muttered. I started to panic, frantically looking around to where they might have gone. I didn't see anyone and the street was silent. With tears in my eyes I sprinted home.


	3. Chapter 2

I closed the door behind me and let my shoulders hang my eyes still filled with tears. 

"Hey, you took a while. Really needed to get out did you. Lin? Lin!?" She entered the hall and immediately stopped when she saw me. She rushed over to me and gently grabbed my face letting one hand rest on my shoulder. 

"What happend?" 

"I....I.." 

Realizing I was still in shock she walked me to the living room and guided me to sit down on the couch. I let out a shaky breath and wiped away my tears. 

As I saw the concerned look on my wife's face I forced myself to start talking not wanting her to think something had happen to me. 

"I was walking down the street when I saw Sara. She was with a man and he.." I couldn't finish the sentence. V softly rubbed my back while patiently waiting for me to continue. 

"He was older than her." I spoke up again "much older, 15 years older. He was yelling at her and grabbing her violently and, and it was so so wrong V." I started crying again. "The worst thing is, I didn't do anything about it, I mean I wanted to but I just couldn't move or talk or do anything, I was frozen. 

"Oh sweetheart." She said sympathetically. 

"They left, I just let them leave. I don't know where she is now. If she's with him or what he's doing to her right now!" 

"Listen Lin, I know this is scary and i understand you feel guilty but this probably has been going on for a while now and it's not like she's entirely gone now. You will get your chance to help her out. Especially now that you now what's going on. Did she see you?"

"No, no I made sure the couldn't see me." 

"Well than she will probably show up at the bodega again tomorrow." I softly nodded knowing I had a chance to do something about this. 

"It's late, let's go to bed and we'll talk about what to do in the morning okay?" 

"You're right." I captured her in a soft and slow kiss before standing up to take a shower before bed.

That night I couldn't sleep. I couldn't get sara's eyes out of my head. The way she looked at him. For how long has this been going on! And how far does he go, does he hit her? I would't be surprised judging by the way het yelled at her and grabbed her. I couldn't imagine treating Vanessa like that. And I couldn't imagine Vanessa staying with a man who does that to her. Why would sara? With my head full I slowly fell asleep.

Casa miranda was alive at 7 am. Vanessa was running around getting ready for work. Sebastian was eating his breakfast at a pace that would bring us a lot of trouble if he continued it and I was trying to get a screaming frankie into some clothes. "Alright, alright lesson learned. Do not take frankie away from his trains. But you gotta get into some clothes buddy, can't have you walking around in pj's all day." I let go of the 2 year old since i finally got him dressed. He immediately sprinted back to his trains and I let him be. "Lin i'm off to work!" I hear vanessa yell from the other side of the house. I ran towards the door to be able to give her a quick kiss before she left. 

"I love you." 

"I love you too, Lin. Enjoy your free day!" 

"I will! Now go and teach some youths how to kick ass!" She walked out the door laughing.

After I dropped the kids off at school and daycare I had a quiet cup of coffee at home. It was my first day off since forever. Now with 'day off' I mean no meetings or press. I always had several writing deadlines looming over me, but I was home for the day. As I got started on my writing i couldn't help but think about the conversation V and I had earlier. She advised me to go down to the bodega today and talk to sara, but she told me not to bring the fact that I had seen what had happened the night before up. 

Around 1 pm i decided to get some coffee so that I was able to talk to sara. As i walked in I saw her standing behind the counter as usual. I greeted her as usual and ordered my coffee as usual. 

"On the go I assume?" She said. 

"Actually, i'd like to drink it here." Not as usual I thought. And by the look on her face she thought the same thing. 

She quickly looked down. As she started making my coffee I took a seat at one one of the bar stools at a comfortable talking distance. Not many people would be coming around at this time, the biggest bulk bought their coffee and lunch in the morning, so I knew I could have a conversation with Sara. I thanked her as she placed a big cup of coffee in front of me. 

"So, how do you like working here Sara?" I asked her. She had an uncomfortable look on her face and was probably wondering why i was starting a conversation like this. I hoped my first question was light and inviting enough that I wouldn't scare her away. Luckily she answered. 

"I like it okay, I used to work at a bigger cafeteria, this is much better." She said. 

"Yeah, I can imagine. You live a couple of blocks away from here don't you?" I continued. 

"Yeah up on 184th street." 

"They don't have bodegas over there?" I said jokingly. She smiled. 

"They do, but they didn't need anyone on my block. This was the closest one I could find that needed people." 

As we continued to talk I could sense she relaxed so i decided to turn our chatting about simple things into a conversation about what i really wanted to know: that man. 

"So, you have a boyfriend?" I asked her, trying to sound as casual as possible. She immediately tensed up. Poor kid. 

"Euhm ye..yeah I do." I decided to pretend I didn't notice the way her behavior suddenly changed. 

"What's his name?" I prompted her. 

"Steve." 

"How long have you guys been together?" 

"Uh couple of years now." She said looking around for an escape from this conversation. 

"How do.." I couldn't finish my sentence. 

"Please Lin I have work to do and you finished your coffee 10 minutes ago." 

"Work to do? There's no one here?" I said 

"no, I..I have some cleaning to do."

No way that that was true, I thought. I really wanted to get more out of her so I put my hand on her shoulder trying to get familiar, big mistake. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Taking several steps back and flinching. I quickly stepped away from her putting my hands in the air, indicating that I wasn't going to hurt her. 

"Hey, hey, calm down, your okay, I'm not going to hurt you okay." I said softly. 

"You should go." She said. I looked at her with pity. 

"Sara." 

"Please Lin." She slightly raised her voice now. 

"Okay, i'll go." 

As I took one last glance behind my shoulder I could see she was starting to cry now. I gave her an almost pleading look before turning back and closing the door behind me.


	4. Chapter 3

I was completely distracted during dinner that night which was unlike me. I could see Vanessa studying my face trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I hadn't told her yet about my interaction with sara. There was clearly something horribly wrong there so I wasn't planning on having this conversation in front of a 2 and 5 year old. 

After dinner I did the dishes as V got the kids ready for bed. When I finished I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses knowing we might need some for the conversation that was about to take place. As my wife walked in I signaled her to take a seat. She knew I was going to have a conversation with Sara today and she seemed eager to find out how it went. As soon as we both sat down on the couch I started talking.

"So I had an, well, interesting interaction with Sara today." I began

My wife's eyes grew more and more concerned as I continued. When I got to the end of the story she asked: "So what did you do?"

"What was I supposed to do V. She clearly wanted me to leave and I didn't want to make her even more uncomfortable than she already was."

"Yeah that makes sense." She said softly. Her mind clearly full of thoughts.

We were both quiet for a while, not knowing what to say when we were suddenly interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"It's 9 pm who could that be?" I asked confused while looking at my watch. 

As the bell rang again I started walking towards the door. Signaling for my wife to stay behind since I didn't know who it was. As I opened the door I saw a large man. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. 

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He immediately yelled at me.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, I don't even know who you are!"

"OF COURSE YOU DO! DON'T THINK I FALL FOR THAT SHIT"

"Could you please stop yelling! I said in a angry whisper voice. "My wife has just tucked our kids in and I don't want them to wake up. And I still don't know...." A realization suddenly dawned on me. The yelling, his voice. 

"Steve!"

"Why the fuck do you think you can put your hands on my girlfriend!" He said, still somewhat loud.

"I literally just touched her shoulder, we were talking! That is nothing compared to the way you touch her!" It was out of my mouth before I realized it. He seemed to be taken aback by it.

"The fuck are you talking about." 

"I saw you to yesterday night. The way you yelled at her and grabbed, you can't treat her like that!" I said shaking my head.

"That's none of your business. She' my girlfriend, I can do whatever the fuck I want with her." I looked at him with disgust.

He suddenly grabbed the collar of my shirt and pressed me against the wall next to the door. He brought his face to mine, his mouth right next to my ear. As he stood this close I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"If you touch or talk to my girlfriend ever again, this conversation is going to be a lot less friendly next time. Is that clear." I quickly nodded.

"I SAID IS THAT CLEAR!"

"Y..yess, it's clear." I stammered terrified.

With that he left, closing the door roughly behind him.

As I walked back to the living room, still in shock, I saw the terrified look in my wife's eyes. 

"You heard all of that didn't you?" I said softly

She nodded, I sighed.

"Lin, I know you want to help her out, but I don't want you to put yourself in danger. That man is no joke, okay?"

"Can't we like call the cops or something?" I asked frustrated.

"Well, since coming by someone's house in the evening is not exactly a crime and we have no evidence that he's abusing her, calling the cops is useless." 

I knew she was right, but I still wasn't content with the answer. She sensed it.

"Okay, how about I go down there tomorrow and tell her that we'll leave her alone, but if she ever needs someone to talk to she has us."

I nodded silently.

She leaned over and came in for a soft kiss. Ready to get rid of my frustrations and worries I started kissing her back passionately. It got heated quickly as I laid her on her back, ready to get lost in this moment.


	5. Chapter 4

As days and weeks passed not much happened. Vanessa went by the bodega and told Sara we were there for her if she needed us, but that we would leave both of them alone. I always made sure to keep an close eye on Sara whenever I got my coffee. In the beginning everything seemed alright, aside from our little interaction on a daily basis being tense and uncomfortable. But soon she started showing up with marks on her body. 

First bags under her eyes and occasionally grab marks on her neck, but those quickly started to turn into real bruises. She also started covering up more. Even though it was summer she never wore shorts or crop tops and most of the time she made sure her arms were covered up. She often showed up with quite some make-up too. Which was clearly there to cover her face up as well. 

V and I kept track of the marks updating each other on them. It sounds insane, but we simply didn't know what to do. Vanessa tried to talk to her but she always acted dismissive and she was definitely not telling me anything. 

One morning I showed up at the bodega, but Sara wasn't there. Instead Antonio was behind the counter. 

"Hey Lin, it's been a while! How can I help you!"

"Hey! Where's Sara" I asked a little confused.

"Oh, she called in sick last night. Why?"

"O nothing, just curios." 

"So, can I get you anything."

"Cafe con leche, please."

As I paid for my coffee and walked out the bodega I started getting really worried about Sara. I mean, she could actually be sick, but my gut told me something else was going on. If her bruises got too bad she probably wouldn't be showing up to work. Not wanting anymore customers 'bothering' her. I hated the fact that I couldn't check up on her. 

As walked passed the grocery store I thought I saw a glimpse of Sara inside. I went in immediately, eager to talk to her. As I sprinted through the big store I finally saw her standing in front of me. Her back was turned to me, so she didn't notice me. As I took a deep breath I carefully thought my next actions through. No touching her shoulder Lin, you know how that went last time, I thought to myself.

"Hey Sara." I said finally. She froze.

"Antonio told me you were sick." I continued in a somewhat questioning tone.

As she slowly tuned around, her head down, my worst fears were confirmed. She was beat up. Seriously beat up. I understood why she hadn't gone to work today. It was far too noticeable. There was no way she could have covered this up.

"Hey." She said softly. She couldn't meet my eyes.

"Sara, this needs to stop. What that man is doing to you is wrong and you can't let this continue." I was done with this and I needed to talk to her. 

"Lin, it's nothing."

"Nothing!? Sweetheart look at yourself!"

"Don't call me sweetheart." She said firmly.

It was quiet for a moment. 

"I'm sorry." I said finally. "I just want you to know that if you ever need a safe place to stay, our door is always open." "You don't have to decide anything now, but I just want to make sure you know that."

By now she had started crying and it broke my heart. 

"Can you promise me, that you'll seek help if you need it." I said trying to meet her eyes.

Finally, looking up, she nodded.

"I promise."

A week later V and I sat on the couch. We jus finished dinner and the boys were in bed. We both had been busy the last couple of weeks, so it was nice to have a quiet evening. We were watching a romantic movie with wine and popcorn as the doorbell suddenly rang. Vanessa sighed, slightly frustrated with having our night interrupted.

"I'll get it." I said, walking towards the door.

As I got closer to the door the bell rang again.

"Yeah, yeah i'm coming. Jeez...." I muttered annoyed. As I opened the door my eyes went wide with shock. 

"My god....." is all that came of my mouth.

She was covered in bruises and blood. Her clothes were ragged, her hair messy and her eyes red from crying. I had never seen anyone that beat up. She was trembling with fear. 

She slowly looked up at me, meeting my eyes. She spoke up, her voice shaky and desperate.

"Lin..."

It was quiet for a moment

"Help."


	6. Chapter 5

"Help."

After those words came out of her mouth she almost collapsed onto the floor. I quickly rushed over to her side and managed to catch her upper arm just before she fell. She immediately flinched away. 

"Shh it's okay i'm not gonna hurt you. You're safe now. Okay?"

She softly nodded, but still looked uncomfortable. I carefully guided her to the living room and sat her down on the couch.

"Dear god.." Vanessa blurted out.

"Sweetie could you get me our first aid kit." I said my voice as calm as possible, even though I was anything but.

Vanessa sensed that I didn't want to cause any panic, so she took a deep breath, nodded and left for the first aid kit. 

I took a seat in front of Sara not wanting her to flinch away again.

"Hey" I said. 

She looked up.

"I'm glad you came." 

Vanessa immediately understood she needed to be the one to take care of the wounds, remembering the story of how she had flinched away from me at the bodega upon touching her. I went to grab a glass of water. 

When I came back V had asked her to remove her shirt in order to take care of the wounds and bruises underneath. As soon as I laid my eyes on her I was stunned into silence. Her entire upper body was covered in bruises. And these weren't all from this evening, that was clear. Some were blue or purple and some had turned green and yellow. I made a silent promise to myself that I would never let that man near her ever again.

V finished up cleaning and putting bandages on her wounds, while she quietly sipped her water. She seemed to be dreading the conversation that was about to take place. I couldn't possibly blame her. I spoke up.

"It's late. Do you just want to go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Please"

"Alright, i'll show you to our guest room. Vanessa can she borrow a pair of pajamas from you?" I said turning to my wife.

"Of course! I'll go find some."

I guided her towards the guest room and Vanessa came in with a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush she could borrow.

"We're headed to bed too." V said. "If you need anything during the night you can always wake us up, sweetie." She added.

"Thanks, both of you." 

"Were really glad you're here." I told her. "Goodnight Sara."

"Goodnight." 

As Vanessa and I laid down in bed I turned to her.

"So what now?"

"Well, she's clearly beat up. So know we finally have prove that he's been abusing her. We can press charges."

"Well luckily we have the best lawyer in the world on our side." I said grinning while moving my hands from her back to her ass.

"Stop it you little flirt." She said laughing.

"But seriously Lin, you can be proud of yourself. You made clear that our house was a safe place that she could come to if she needed to and she did. She's safe now because of you."

"I just hope I can keep her safe." I said sighing. 

"We'll figure this out." 

I nodded. After I softly kissed my wife we both closed our eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning Vanessa and I were up early. We wanted to make sure the kids were dressed and breakfast was ready before Sara wakes up. As I set the table while Vanessa was baking the last couple of pancakes a voice softly called me from behind.

"Lin"

"Sara! Good morning! How did you sleep."

"I slept great. Thank you! Can I maybe take a shower before breakfast?"

"Of course! I'll get you a towel."

I walked her to the bathroom, gave her a towel and showed her how the shower worked.

"The lock works pretty easy, so you don't have to worry about anyone walking in on you." I said, sensing she was slightly uncomfortable.

"Thanks Lin."

"No problem." And I left, closing the door behind me."

As I walked back to the kitchen V was finishing up the pancakes. I stood behind her and snaked my arms around her waist, pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder.

"Sara's up?" She asked me?

"Yup. Taking a shower."

"You seem tense." She spoke up after a while.

"I'm nervous."

"About what?" 

"It's just... what if she doesn't want to press charges." I said, now leaning against the counter, facing my wife.

"Well that's definitely possible. It's the cycle of abuse right, she probably thinks she can't lose him that he's all she has. And since she's an adult we can't exactly force her to do anything or keep her away from him." 

I sighed hoping that wouldn't be the case. 

"Hey, all we can do is show her love, and make her see that she's better off without him." 

"I know." 

Just then Sara walked in. Her wet hair swept up in a bun and she was dressed in some clean clothes that she must have quickly packed before she got here. 

"Good morning Sara." Vanessa said

"Good morning."

"We have pancakes for breakfast, how does that sound?"

"Sounds good." She said smiling. 

As we had breakfast we didn't talk about anything too serious. After we had cleaned up V told the boys to go play in the other room while Sara and I sat down at the table. She seemed to be dreading what was about to come. How could she not. Poor kid.

I was the one to speak up first. 

"Sara, there are a couple of things we need to know." I began.

She nodded.

"First of all, how long have you and Steve been together?"

"3 years now."

"How old were both of you when you started dating?"

"I was 19 and he was...." She paused for a moment. "32"

Vanessa and I both sighed. She looked down embarrassed.

"Hey, none of this is your fault okay. You don't have to feel embarrassed." Vanessa said quickly.

As Sara continued her story both Vanessa's and my stomach had turned upside down. 

She talked about how both her parents died in a car accident. She had met Steve a month before the accident. She told us how he had been there for her. How he was the only one there for her and she had held onto him for dear life. 

She had held onto him when he started drinking. She had held onto him when he started forcing her to cook and clean and do everything in the household. And she had held onto him when he started beating her. 

She talked about how he was drunk last night and got extremely mad out of nowhere. He went completely insane and there was nothing she could do. At some point he fell asleep from the excessive amount of alcohol and she was able to sneak out of the house.

By the time she finished her story she had started crying and Vanessa sat close next to her holding her hand while I was trying to keep it together myself.

I took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Sara listen. You're not alone. At least not anymore. You have me and Vanessa and there are so many more people out there. People who treat you with love and respect. You deserve that."

"I'm just not ready to lose him."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Haven't you already lost him?" I said.

She looked up at me somewhat confused.

"What?"

"The man you fell in love with. The man who was there for you when no one was. He's already gone. Can't you see that." 

"I just..." she started crying again. "I guess I believed that things would go back to normal. To the way the were before."

"Maybe it's time to realize that that's not going to happen." 

"Sara, do you understand that it might be good to press charges?" Vanessa said.

"Press charges?" 

"No one is allowed to to this to another person. He deserves to be punished for what he did to you." 

She shook her head 

"No! No, I can't do that." 

"Sara calm down. Let's talk about this okay." I said

"No!" She told me firmly "We're not gonna talk about this! I'm not gonna send him to jail!" 

She stood up and ran off to her room.

"Sara!" I yelled, standing up, ready to follow her.

"Lin calm down." Vanessa said, grabbing my arm so that I was unable to move. 

I sighed, as I sat back down at the table.

"This is a lot for her. Give her some space."

I placed my head in my hands in defeat.


	7. Chapter 7

"So what now?"

"Give her some time to calm down and then i'll talk to her okay?"

"I think for now the most important thing is for her to break up with him." I said

"Yeah I agree, she can stay with us until until she finds a new place right?" 

"Of course! Do you think she'll want to break up with him?" 

Before Vanessa could answer Sara walked in looking embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry about that. I know both of you just want to help me and I should't have walked out like that."

"It's okay." I said. "I understand that this is a lot so just tell us if you need a break okay?" She nodded.

"I need to break up with him right?"

V and I looked at each other.

"I think we all know that is the best thing for you." Vanessa said.

"I'm just so scared."

"You don't have to be, V and I are there for you and if you want one of us can come with you."

"Where am I supposed to stay?"

"We can look at a new place for you together, but until then you're more than welcome to stay with us."

"I don't know. I don't wanne be a burden."

"Sara you're not a burden." Vanessa said firmly. "We are really glad to have you here."

We were interrupted by loud banging on the door. 

"There is a doorbell you know." I muttered, while walking towards the door.

As I opened the door both fear and rage suddenly filled my body.

"Where is she!?"

"You need to leave." I told him firmly, not wanting to answer his question.

"She's mine, you can't keep her away from me!" 

"She is not your property nor are we keeping her away from you. She ran away from you!" I said.

The images of Sara's beat up body playing through my head made it very hard for me not to lose it. I don't get angry quickly, but when I do, it's real. 

"You're out of you FUCKING mind if you even for a second think that I am gonna let her go home with and disgraceful DICK such as you!" 

Now it was my turn to get angry. I grabbed him by the collar of his sweater just like he'd done with me and pressed him against the wall. He was a lot bigger than me but the rage in my body made me stronger than usual.

"This woman does't want to see you ever again! If you show up here again we'll call the police. We have more than enough proof that you've been abusing her and my genius wife happens to be one of the best lawyers in the fucking world and she can put you away for the rest of your life! So you're gonna walk out this door and never ever come close to Sara ever again!"

"IS THAT CLEAR!" 

Oh how the tables have turned.

"Clear." He said through gritted teeth.

I roughly smashed his back against the wall before letting him go. He quickly walked away. 

I sighed loudly as I closed the door, taking a moment to regain my breath. I walked back towards the table where V and Sara were still sitting. It stayed completely silent for a while and the air felt tense. 

"Sooooo, fun fact you actually don't have to break up with him anymore." I said a smile creeping on my face. She laughed a bit but I saw her face suddenly changed. Tears filled her eyes.

"Come here." I said opening my arms. She hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped in.

At first she felt tense. I rubbed her back carefully. She was still incredible bruised and I didn't want to hurt her. 

Finally she let go. Let go of all the pain and stress and fear. Her shoulders fell and she held onto me for dear life. It was over. She could finally let go and so, the dam broke.

Tears were streaming from her eyes like rain from the sky. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." 

"Shhhh shhh you're safe, you're safe now." I told her while gently kissing the top of her head. 

She was safe.

Finally.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a month since Sara broke up with Steve. Since then everything had been going great with her. She stayed with us for about a week while looking for a new place. She eventually found one 2 minutes walking away from ours. Luckily Steve had stayed away from her and everything seemed to be going great.

Until one day.

It was a Tuesday, the kids were at school, Vanessa was lawyering and I was writing at home. The doorbell rang so I got up and opened the door.

"Sara! Good to see you! What's up?"

"Lin, uhmm is... uhm I" she started crying.

"Hey it's okay, calm down. Come in sweetheart."

As I sat her down on the couch my mind was racing for any possible reason Sara could be upset. I waited patiently for what was about to come.

"Lin I really don't now how to say this."

"It's okay. You can tell me everything, you know that right?"

It was silent for a moment as she prepared herself for what she was about to say.

"I'm pregnant."

She didn't meet my eyes.

"I...who....who's is it?"

She sighed deeply trying to keep herself together.

"Steve."

I was stunned into silence. I had no idea what to say. What did I have to say in order to console her. Did she want to be consoled. I was furious at steve for putting her in this position. How could he!

"Lin? Please say something." She said, now on the verge of tears

Still not knowing what to say I simply pulled her into a hug. She cried softly. 

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm so so sorry."

As she wiped away her tears I carefully asked her:

"When did you find out?"

"Yesterday. You're probably wondering how this happened."

I softly nodded. She sighed.

"It must have happened just before we broke up." She started. "Steve was drunk a lot and sometimes he wanted to have sex out of nowhere. In the middle of the night or randomly in the afternoon. It was no use resisting, even if I was tired and really didn't want to, it only made him more violent."

I looked at her with pity in my eyes.

"He often didn't use a condom in those moments, even though I begged him to. I was supposed to have my period around the time I came to you guys and the days before that but I didn't. I thought it was nothing. It's not unusual to skip one if you have a lot of stress, but I was supposed to have the next one days ago and it just didn't happen. I got scared so I took a pregnancy test and well..."

"God, i'm so sorry Sara. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you. Are thinking of an abortion?"

"I've thought about it, but I honestly don't think that's what I want."

I nodded understandingly.

"I know it's Steve's child but it's also mine you know. And I've always wanted to be a mother. I think I want to keep it."

"Of course! If you do change your mind know that V and I will be there for you, but that's wonderful."

"I'm just nervous. This is all really unexpected."

"Well you have 9 months to prepare and we have little kids, so we know a thing or two." I said smirking. She laughed a little. It was quiet for a moment.

"Congratulations."

"What?" She said a little confused.

"Congratulations! You just told me you're pregnant and I haven't even congratulated you. I know that this may not be how you imagined it, but it's still really special."

"Thank you! That means a lot."

She closed her eyes for a second. Looking relieved. But still distressed 

"Lin."

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay here? I don't feel like being alone right now."

"Of course." And I pulled her into a hug. "Of course , sweetie."

As Vanessa came home that night she looked a little confused as she saw Sara setting the table.

"Hey, you're having dinner with us." 

"Well, actually I'm spending the night here." She said while looking uncomfortable, probably wondering wether she was welcome.

I took V to our bedroom for a second and explained the whole thing to her.

"Jeez." She said after I finished.

"I know, but we just need to make clear that we are there for her no matter what happens." She nodded.

Sara seemed distracted at dinner. How could she not be. Luckily it didn't feel uncomfortable since Sebastian always had something to say.

The whole night she seemed to have something on her mind that she wasn't sharing with us. My wife and I communicated silently. As we were cleaning up my wife whispered something in my ear while I stood next to her in the kitchen.

"Take her out for a walk Lin. She has something on her mind." 

I nodded as I walked back towards the table.

"Sara, you feel like taking an evening walk in the park." I said.

"Sure, V are you coming too?"

"Actually I think I'm gonna give the boys a bath, but you two have fun!" 

It was quiet as we walked towards the park.

"Got something on your mind?"

"Lots of things."

"Makes sense." I said nodding. "Anything in particular?" 

It stayed silent for a moment. She seemed like she wanted to answer, but hesitated.

"What if he wants custody." She finally said.

It suddenly dawned on me. That's what was on her mind. She's terrified of having this violent and dangerous man around her child.

"Well that might happen, but you should know that there are lots of legal ways to prevent that from happening. You can still testify against him to prove that a child would be in danger when being placed in a home with him." 

"I know, but I'm just scared. I wouldn't want anybody else going through what I went through, let alone a child."

"I promise you, I won't let that happen okay?"

She nodded.

By now we had finished our walk and stood in front of my building again. 

"I'll explain this to V, is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, it is important that you keep us updated on what's going on in your head. You can trust us."

"Thank you!"

"Well what can I say except you're welcome!"

"Seriously Lin! You're quoting your own lyrics now!"

"I guess success isn't healthy for my ego after all."

We laughed and joked as we walked back to the apartment.

As we stopped before the door Sara spoke up.

"Thank you, for being there for me."

"I'll always will be."


	10. Chapter 10

*6 year time jump*  
Sara's pov.

"Evie eat your breakfast please."

"But I want to play."

"We need to leave in a bit, we're going to tio Lin remember?"

I grabbed my coat and made sure Evie was ready to go.

It was only a couple minutes walking. Soon we were standing in front of the door. V was at work so Lin opened it.

"Sara, It's so good to see you, come in! Hey Evie how are you?" He asked

"I'm good, tio." Lin and I both laughed. 

I sat down on the couch and Evie immediately ran off to go play with her older nephews Sebastian and Frankie. 

"So, Evie's fifth birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. How do you wanna celebrate?"

"Oh I guess we'll invite some friends from school and your boys of course and we can just do some fun activities over at our place to...." 

I was interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing. I didn't recognize the number.

"I'm sorry."

"No it's alright, get it." 

I walked towards the kitchen to have a little privacy.

"Sara Johnson, how can I help you?"

It was completely silent for a moment.

"Sara how are you? It's Steve." 

My world collapsed.

"Sara, are you there?"

His voice. I spent years trying to get it out of my mind. Suddenly it was there again.

"Yyyes...I'm here."

All my confidence I had built up over the past 6 years shattered within seconds. I started hyperventilating.

"Sara listen I know It's been a while and..."

He was cut off abruptly. I had ended the call. I couldn't do this. I couldn't accept this was real. As I slowly walked back towards the living room I saw Lin's smile drop. 

"Who was it?"

It was quiet. 

Lin rushed over and gently grabbed my face looking concerned.

"Sara?"

"Steve." I finally said

He seemed confused for a second, taken aback. Like he had almost forgotten who it was. Almost. The look of confusion quickly made space for anger, but I could see he was trying to stay calm for me. I broke down crying.

"Shh I've got you. Sit down."

As he sat me down he started rubbing my back up and down. He didn't try to get me to talk. He knew it was useless. We stayed like this for a while until Lin spoke up.

"Sara, I'm gonna need you to listen to me very carefully. I know this is scary, but I will figure this out. I'm not gonna let that man come close to you or your daughter okay."

"How are you gonna do that?"

Just then my phone dinged. I looked over. Lin grabbed it.

"What does he say?"

"He wants to meet up." 

"What am I gonna do Lin?"

"Well I'm not gonna let you go, that's for sure."

"So?"

"What if I go?"

"Are you insane!?"

"It's not insane. I can go and figure out what he wants. Does he know about Evie?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"I can find that out."

"Lin are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Let me go."

"Okay."

We sat down as I texted Steve asking him where we should meet up and we decided on a place and date. 

"Lin I think I'm heading home. It's getting late and Evie has school tomorrow."

"Yeah. I'll call you." I nodded.

"Hey, It's gonna be alright. I'll figure this out okay."

"Thank you." 

*Lin's pov.*  
Short after Sara had left V came home. I explained everything to her. She wasn't happy about our little plan. I leaned against the counter as she started making dinner. We quickly got into an argument.

"What do you think this is Lin, some action movie!? You're not James Bond and you're not spider-man. You can't just go ahead and have this little adventure by yourself. If you think she's in danger you call the police and you get a restraining order."

Oh boy. Arguing with a lawyer: this will be fun.

"Listen V I get that you're concerned, but we're meeting up at a public place, what could go wrong."

"What could go wrong! Lin are you crazy."

"I'm not crazy. You should've seen the look in her eyes. What would you have done." 

"I would've though things through rationally."

"Oh I'm sorry I'm not a robot like you without feelings who can only calculate things rationally through numbers and shit."

"I have no feelings! What is wrong with you." 

"That's not what I meant."

"It's what you said." I sighed dramatically.

"You know what fine." I said, standing up and grabbing my coat. 

"Lin, where are you going?" 

"I need to take a walk. You can have dinner without me!"

I said, before slamming the door shut.

V and I didn't fight often but when we did it was serious. I just couldn't believe her. I understand that she is scared, so am I, but what else was I supposed to do. I did feel a little bad that I left like that, it was unlike me. But I was filled with rage. I was a little upset with my wife of course, but above all I was furious with Steve.

That twisted basterd how dare he enter Sara's life again after all these years. I have watched her recover from that relationship for the past 6 years. All the progress she had made disappeared with one phone call. She had turned into the petrified girl again and it broke my heart.

What did that guy want! Did he know about his daughter. Does he want to meet her? What will that do to Sara. 

I was walking through the park at a quick pace. Whenever I was frustrated or upset I needed to do something physical. My mind was going a mile per minute as I tried to think of every possible scenario that could come my way. 

I looked at my phone and realized I had been gone for a couple of hours. I quickly rushed home. When I openend the door I saw Vanessa sitting on the couch her head in her hands. I felt a wave of guilt rush over me. I rushed up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry V. I'm so so sorry."

"No, you were right. I'm just scared."

"I know. So am I. But I can do this. I promise."

We held each other for a while needing each other's arms around us right now. 

"I love you so much Vanessa."

"I love you too."


	11. Chapter 11

The entire morning I was a bundle of nerves. Today I was gonna meet up with Steve. Vanessa tried to calm me down but it was no use. I was distracted and short with the boys at breakfast. Frankie wouldn't eat, as usual

"Frankie, eat." I told him firmly

"Daddy I'm not hungry!"

"I don't care."

Frankie refused to eat and started screaming 'I don't want to' over and over again, Sebastian started screaming at his younger brother because of the noise he made, Vanessa was running around getting ready for work and even the dog started barking from all the noise. Combined with all my nerves, fears and worries I couldn't take it anymore. 

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" I yelled while banging my fist on the table. 

The whole house became completely silent in a second. Everyone stared at me before I stood up and stormed off. When I entered our bedroom and shut the door I started crying softly. After 10 minutes or so I heard someone softly knocking on the door.

"Lin, can I come in." 

I tried to steady my voice before replying

"Yes"

V looked at me with pity upon entering the room.

"Oh sweetheart."

"I'm okay, I need to get the boys ready."

"Don't worry about that. They're ready and I will take them to school, I just called my boss to let her know that I will be a bit later, it wasn't a problem."

"Thank you V! I wouldn't know what to do without you."

I leaned in to capture her lips in a soft kiss.

"How are you holding up?"

"Not good. I just screamed at my kids and stormed off." I said, feeling guilty. 

"Oh don't worry about that. They've already forgotten about it." I nodded, somewhat relieved.

"I'm afraid I have to leave, but let me know how it went okay?"

"Okay."

"Hey, you can do this. Be smart. Don't put yourself in danger and you will be okay."

"I know."

I kissed her once more before she stood up to leave. 

An hour after V had left with the boys it was time for me to leave. I texted Sara that I was going and she wished me luck. She must be a lot more nervous than I am. Poor thing.

I was walking down the street and knew I was only a couple of blocks away from the place we decided to meet up. It was a small cafe. Small enough to have a private conversation yet big enough for me to not be kidnapped. As I got closer and closer I braced myself for the confrontation. He was expecting to see Sara not me. 

I took a deep breath before opening the door and entering the cafe. I saw Steve sitting in the back. My stomach turned upside down upon seeing him, but I quickly pulled myself together. He glanced over at me to see if I was Sara, he looked away seeing I wasn't and then looked back wide eyed realizing it was me. An angry look appeared on his face. I made sure my face looked tough and my fear was masked. I'm an actor I do this for a living. Yet this was different. 

"Where's Sara?" 

"She won't be coming." 

"I need to talk to her."

"You will talk to me or you will talk to nobody." He sighed.

"What do you want from her."

"I want my daughter."

This is what I feared the most. 

"How do you know about Evie." I said, feeling my protective instincts kick in.

"They needed to contact a parent for a health check up. Sara must not have been able to answer the phone and apparently my name was on the birth certificate so they called me up. As you can imagine that was quite a surprising phone call to get."

"Surprising ?" I said, raising my voice. "You have abused that woman for years and you're surprised that she doesn't want her child near you! You should be glad you've gotten away without a lawsuit. Sara had mercy on you, but if it were up to me and my wife you wouldn't have gotten away so easily."

"She's MY daughter." 

It stayed quiet for a moment. I looked down feeling an extreme amount of rage entering my body.

I find that people react one of two ways when they're angry: They run hot or they run cold. Most of us run hot: We lose our temper and our wits often leave us as well. I don't get angry easily, but when I do, I run cold: Time slows down and the exact right words click into place to destroy what's in front of me.

I took a deep breath.

"Your daughter. You have forcefully had sex with this woman, she begged you to stop but you didn't. Then you decided a condom wouldn't feel as good, she begged you to use one, but you didn't. You raped her. When she finally managed to get away from you, she found out that you impregnated her. She carried her child for nine months, gave birth to a beautiful girl who she then raised for 5 years all by herself while dealing with mental issues caused by you. And you claim this is your daughter. You have nothing to do with this child or her mother whatsoever. You managed to get away last time, but if you contact her ever again you won't get away with it. I will personally ensure that you spend every last minute of your life behind bars."

He seemed taken aback. Good. 

I let out a huge breath before getting up and leaving.


	12. Chapter 12

*Sara's pov.*

It has been a week since Lin confronted Steve. I was terrified, but it seemed to have worked. I haven't heard from him ever since. Evie was over at lin's place today while I was working. I was in the store buying some groceries before picking her up. I stood in the breakfast aisle when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. As I turned around my entire world shattered into pieces. 

"Where's Evie" he said firmly.

There it was. The face I had spent years trying to forget. Those cold and hard eyes. Those eyes the had drawn me in once, but now only terrified me. 

I have to go. I have to run.

But I couldn't. I was frozen. He grabbed my shoulder and I flinched. 

"You thought you were really smart huh? Sending that Lin guy with his big talk. You don't seem to be talking now?"

"I..I.." I couldn't get the words out.

"That's what I thought."

My own fears suddenly streamed out of me as I thought of Evie and my motherly instincts kicked in.

"What do you want with her." I said, keeping my voice steady and getting straight to the point. "Why should I believe you give one shit about her."

"She's my daughter too! I have the same right to see her as you do." 

I scoffed. "No. You lost that right a long time ago Steve."

"You think you can just keep her away from me!" 

At this point he was full on yelling and I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"I will not let my daughter get hurt because her mother decided to trust an asshole like you."

Rage filled his eyes. Maybe it was his alcohol induced head. Maybe he just wanted to hurt me. Maybe he was genuinely upset. But what happened, happened.

He brought his fist back and took a hard blow to my face. It knocked me back and I stumbled backwards. I looked at him almost confused. Looking back I shouldn't have been confused, but I had simply forgotten how it felt. It had forgotten the fear. 

He grabbed my throat, not quite choking me, but not letting enough air through for me to breathe comfortably either. His mouth moved right next to my ear and he hissed:

"I'm not done with you yet." 

Before turning around and walking out of the store as if nothing happened.

*lin's pov.*  
"She's running a bit late isn't she?" I said, looking at my watch slightly worried.

"Maybe traffic was just bad. It's New York City after all." 

She saw my concerned eyes and gently grabbed my face.

"Hey, I'm sure she's fine." 

"Yeah, I know. Just a little worried."

"I get it. With Steve showing up. It's scary."

"Yeah, I just really thought she could live peacefully without him. She deserved that after everything she's been through." V nodded.

Just then the bell rang. As I opened the door I saw her. Her eyes were red from crying and around her right eye was a big blue cirkel. That motherfucker, I thought to myself. She couldn't meet my eyes. 

"Sara ." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Was it Steve?" A small nod.

"That son of a bitch." I muttered under my breath.

V and I guided her to sit down and she told us what had happened. We were shocked. Maybe it was stupid of us to think he would really stay away. I took Sara's hand in mine and she looked up at me.

"Sara, you understand that we have to press charges right?" She looked at me miserably. Vanessa spoke up.

"I know this isn't ideal and it's going to be very difficult, but this is Evie's safety we're talking about too. I know it was different last time. Then it was just you, but now you have a responsibility to keep Evie safe too."

"You're right. I want to press charges."

I let out a relieved sigh. 

"Well, you're lucky cause you already got the best lawyer in the world on your side." I joked. Both V and Sara smiled.

In that moment Evie walked in with the boys. 

"Mommy!"

"Hey sweetheart, did you have fun?"

"Uhuh!" 

I saw every ounce of doubt she might have had leave her eyes as she lovingly stroked her hair. I saw V with a determined look in her eyes. I felt the same way. We had to keep them safe. Both of them.


End file.
